According to an investigation in 2008 by the Associated Press, pharmaceuticals can be found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans. The study also indicated that antibiotics, mood stabilizers, and sex hormones are among the drugs found in the drinking water supplies of at least 24 major metropolitan areas in the U.S.

“Drugs and other synthetic chemicals are increasingly found in surface and groundwater sources, and can contaminate drinking water supplies and disrupt natural ecosystem processes," says New York Sea Grant Director James Ammerman.

In April 2009, NYSG was part of a collaborative "Return Unwanted Medicines" take-back event on Long Island (click here). And, in Fall 2010, New York joined other Great Lakes Sea Grant programs in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Illinois and Indiana for a "Dose of Reality" education campaign targeted to keep chemicals out of our waterways (click here)

Resources for Returning Unwanted Medicines:

Publications:

• How to hold a successful pharmaceutical take-back event without outside funding (August 2009) (pdf)
  
  
• Dose of Reality Publication - Remedies to keep everyday chemicals out of waterways (Great Lakes Sea Grant Network) (Fall 2010) (pdf)
  
  
• Dose of Reality Flier (Great Lakes Sea Grant Network) (April 2011) (pdf)
  
  
• "Don't Flush Pharmaceuticals" Educational Poster (Letter Size) (pdf)
  

Web Sites:

• U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's National Takeback Initiative (click here)
  
  
• NYS Department of Environmental Conservation's "Household Drug Collection Schedule" Web Site (click here)
  
  
• NYS Department of Environmental Conservation's "Proper Disposal of Household Prescriptions and Over-the-counter Drugs" Web Site (click here)
  
  
• Disposal of Unwanted Medicines: A Resource for Action in Your Community (Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant) (click here)
  

Feature Articles:

• "Estrogenic Compounds in Urban Waterways" (Coastlines, Spr/Sum '09) (pdf)
  
  
• New Yorkers, Don't Flush Your Drugs (Fall '08) (pdf)
  
  
• "Improving the Health and Balance of New York’s Waters" (Coastlines, Spr '02) (pdf)
  [includes information on research on Estrogenic Compounds in Urban Waterways]
  

Related Media:

• Your News Now: Improper Disposal of Pharmaceuticals Can Cause Serious Harm (May 2011)  (click here)
  
  
• NOAA Sea Grant: NYSG and Other Sea Grant Programs Ranked in NOAA's State of Sea Grant Report  (click here) 
  
  
• Cornell University: "Keeping Pharmaceuticals Out of the Water: Activities Around New York State" (Spr/Sum '09) (click here)
  
  
• TompkinsWeekly: "Meds Pose Problems for Environment" (August 03, 2009) (click here)
  
  
• NOAA's Coastal Services Magazine: Pharmaceuticals in the Envrionment - Coastal Managers Are Discovering How to Respond (January/ February 2010) (click here)